Although poker is a mental sport that exhausts both physically and psychologically all those who dedicate themselves to it professionally, in the history of this game we can meet true enthusiasts who have been able to play for a certain period of time. Neither the pressure of other players around the table, nor the danger of starting to come into inclinationnor the risks of registering immense losses within such long games, were not enough to calm these authentic sharks of poker in live ou of poker on line. It is important that we advise you to be very careful if you come up against one of them during one of our online tournaments, as they could take over your chip stack in minutes.
However, they allow us great stories where they manage to transform themselves, going from gambling sick to heroes fighting for what they love more than anything: poker. To learn more about these fearless characters, you have to look at the longest games in the history of poker. Those that have been recognized as such and that are the current world record holders, but we also have to talk about those that are not mentioned in the books and that are nevertheless historic, although to take them into account it is necessary to do a certain effort to believe in the legends that surround them. And if you’re ever afraid, or want, to have a similar experience on our platform, don’t worry because with our poker software, everything is under control. You just have to choose the tournament that suits you best.
The checked parts
To find the trace of the longest poker games in history, it is possible to consult the Guinness Book of Records. It is the book that can best enlighten us on this specific theme. And in this one will find a reference to the part of the Irishman Phil Laak at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The professional player, who is also a US citizen, had his sights set on breaking the previously set record and he ended up reaching his endurance limit after 115 consecutive hours of poker. After 6 days of play, the state of Nevada took a break to see how this champion of both the WSOP and the WPT had just written a superb page in the history of poker, in one of the most emblematic casinos in the gambling capital.
Laak only takes a 5-minute rest after every hour of play, and he allows himself the luxury of sleeping for 30 minutes. The best part was that all the money he made playing Texas Hold’em in this crazy business, he donated to a foundation caring for seriously ill children in the United States. The man from Dublin literally broke the previous mark which was 72 consecutive hours, validated 6 years earlier, in 2004, at the Foxwood casino. There was also another mark set by Paul Zimbler, over 78 hours of play, but which had never been recorded as an official record, although for many poker fans this was considered the ultimate figure before the appearance and performance of Laak.
And in another register, the record for the longest, but not continuous game, belongs to the American Johnny Moss and to the Greek Nick Dandolos who met in 1949 at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, also in Las Vegas. The two professional players engaged one-on-one which lasted for more than 5 months, but of course in an interrupted manner. The duo used to rest every four or five days, but the truth is that they slept very little. And this until Dandolos ends up putting an end to this endless game, although he was the one who was playing the most wait-and-see.
Both players weren’t afraid to dabble in all types of alternative poker games, well beyond traditional Texas Hold’em, and their winnings each had many ups and downs. Moss has accumulated at the end of the game nearly 2 million dollars, in this part which will have served as inspiration and motivation for the creation of the world series of poker.
The part that is a “matter of faith”
Today, poker has a great visibility, and there are always more means of communication which tell us the anecdotes that we offer this sport. On television, we can watch poker hands taking place in tournaments in live, while platforms like Twitch allow us to follow online poker games. Obviously, it was not always like this and, in previous centuries, it was only word of mouth between citizens that allowed poker stories to be relayed. That is why the party we are going to talk about now is not an official record. We are getting closer to a legend here, but that is inevitable when we talk about the longest games in history.
In the basement of the Bird Cage Theater in the city of Tombstone took place a game between experienced card players that would have lasted 8 years, between 1881 and 1889. This is where some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of the time played, and they never stopped playing for long, so there were always at least a few people around the table. There is no official document that can confirm these figures, nor sources likely to serve as proof, but many are those who like to consider this file as the most important of all.
And you, which one will you keep in mind?
